Supporting the cultivation of corn and soybeans is the first phase in a program aimed at transforming farming in parts of Benin.
Taking an integrated approach, the program aims ultimately to boost the nation’s poultry production, and hence national food security.
The project has received a significant financial kick-start in the form of a loan of over EUR102 million (US$119 million) from the African Development Bank (AFDB).
Approving the loan earlier this week, the bank’s board expects private sector involvement to help raise productivity of the country’s savannah region through the use of appropriate technologies.
An ecosystem of mixed woodland and grassland, Benin’s savannah is similar to the Cerrado in Brazil. The development of this latter region into the “food basket of Brazil” has inspired the program for Benin, according to AFDB.
Implemented over a series of phases, the project will start next year and run until 2030.
Targets include cultivation of 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) of corn and soybeans and annual production of 41,000 metric tons (mt) of chicken meat.
Around 50,000 people in the area are expected to benefit directly from this Agriculture Transformation Programme, and up to half a million more indirectly. Thirty percent of each target group will be women.
Those growing the crops will be provided with certified seeds, fertilizers, and plant protection products, and have access to equipment to support sowing and crop management. Also set to benefit are poultry farmers, who will receive broiler chicken farming kits.
As part of the program, 60 1,000-mt barns, 90 500-mt barns, and 150 drying areas will be constructed to support the planned capacity expansion.
Furthermore, AFDB reports, stakeholder groups will be formed as part of the project to identify and promote sustainable cropping and poultry systems.
Poultry production in Benin
Official figures put annual production of fresh and chilled chicken meat in Benin at around 9,700mt. This is according to the statistics arm of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, FAOstat for 2023, the most recent year for which data have been published. At that time, hen egg output in the country amounted to around 17,600mt.
Benin’s human population in 2024 was close to 14.5 million, according to the World Bank.
